Roller rail



H. H. HARRIS ROLLER RAIL Filed N0v 16. 1957 ..5 E i m u HJ.. www m sept.12, 1939.

b WwW/Marfil,

har/474.* W.

Patented Sept. 12, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

My invention relates generally to industrial heat treating furnaces,such as carbonizing fur- Lnaces and the like, and specifically isconcerned with the means employed Within the furnace on .5 which to movearticles therethrough.

Articles to be heat treated are usually loaded .onto at bottomedsupports, such as trays, boxes .or the like. These supports are disposedon top 'of skid rails or tracks, or on various types of roller rails/andare then usually pushed through the heat treating furnace in tandem. Theflat :skid .rails have been found to be unsatisfactory, `aboth becauseof the destructive effects of the fricition generated by theflat-bottomed supports, and because of the injurious effects of the heatconditions within the furnace which, with the load bearing stresses,cause warping, buckling :and bending 0f the rails.

Qrdinarily, roller rails, that is, rails on which rollers are mounted,while not subject to the destructive effects of travelling friction tothe same extent as are ,flat skid rails, are nevertheless subject to theinjurious effects of furnace heat and work support and travel thereover,and are so formed that usually the entire roller rail must be replacedif any part thereof becomes worn or damaged through use. This is anexpensive operation, and among the objects of my invention, therefore,is the provision of a roller rail unit which is made up of a number ofeasily connected and replaceable parts.

Most of the wear in a roller rail is taken up and absorbed by the rollerbearings due to the friction of the revolving journals against thebearing. These bearings are the most common cause of roller raildestruction and it is,

therefore, another object of my invention to provide a roller rail unitwith independent bearings of simple construction which are easy toinstall, take out and replace.

Another object of my invention is to provide a roller rail unit withlighter and stronger bearing and roller supports.

Other and related objects of my invention will in part be pointed outspecifically, and in part be plain from the following description of anillustrative embodiment.

In the drawing annexed hereto and made a part hereof,

r. Figure 1 is a plan View of a portion of one form of roller rail unitconstructed according to and embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 3--3 I of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line 4--4 of Fig. 1.

Reference numeral Ill indicates my new form of roller rail unit whichcomprises generally a pair of longitudinally aligned and spaced apart 5support members I2, I2, having secured therewithin apertured bearingmembers I4, I4, each pair of bearing members receiving the taperedjournals I6, I3, of roller I8, the upper portion of which roller I8projects upwardly of the supports l0 I2, I2 permitting work to be movedthrough the furnace upon the rollers.

Each support I2 comprises an elongated flattened, tubular member, whichis preferably formed as a one-piece casting of heat and corrol5 sionresisting alloy, of nickel, chromium and iron composition. The flattenedtubular members comprising supports I2, I2, are disposed on edge andsecured in parallel and spaced-apart relationship, as illustrated inFigs. 1, 3 and 4, by 20 means of aps I3, I3, which are preferably formedintegrally with each of supports I2, I2, and are welded to the other ofsaid supports. A number of flaps I3 are formed on both the top andbottom of each of the supports and extend 25 inwardly from therespective supports I2 in staggered relationship, and the supports I2are spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the length of flapsI3, the welded connections, as I5, being made at the points of contactbetween supports 30 I2 and flaps I3. The fiaps I3 are preferably formedfairly close together to prevent spreading of the supports during usewithin the furnace, under the influence of the heat conditions and loadbearing stresses which ordinarily would 35 cause spreading of the railsupports, but not too close to interfere with the free action of therollers I8 projecting upwardly therebetween. The lower flaps arepreferably wider than the flaps at the top. 40

The outer wall of each of supports I2, I2, is provided with a pluralityof spaced-apart openings 20, which are generally elliptical in shape andhave their longest dimension extending lengthwise of the supports. Theinner Wall of 45 each of the supports I2, I2, is provided with a similarnumber of circular openings 22, which round openings 22 are aligned withthe elliptical openings 2D. 'I'hese openingsA 20 and 22 are formed inthe side walls of supports I2 midway 50 between the flap connections.

A number of circular bearing members I4, having tapered apertures 25therethrough, are inserted in each support I2 through opening 20, andare welded therewithin as indicated at 50. 55

Each bearing member I4 is provided with ears 26 on opposite sidethereof, which ears 26 extend outwardly from the body of the bearingmember. The bearing member I4 is inserted through the elliptical opening20 with ears 26 in alignment with the longer dimension of said openings20, and into circular openings 22, until ears 26 are inside the interiorhollow part ofthe support I2 between the support walls, and is thengiven a quarter turn so that Iears 26, 26, are aligned with the shorterdimension of openings 20 to form a bayonet joint connection between thebearing member I4 and the inner and outer walls of the support memberI2, and lock the bearing I4 Within the support. Ears 2,6 also serve totake up any transverse thrust developed by travel of Weighted supportsover rollers I8.

A plurality of cored openings 60 are formed in the inner Walls ofsupports `I2 so that the rail as a whole is self-cleaning, and scale andother foreign matter will ,fall to the furnace floor.

My improved roller rail has numerous features of advantage. For onething, th-e parts are simple and can be cast at very low expense. Foranother thing, maintenance cost is low and the parts, particularly theroller bearings, can be Itaken down and replaced easily and inexpensive-1y. lFor instance, 4if any particular bearing b-ecornes worn throughlong use, or cracks as a result of the load and heat stresses to whichit is subjected, it is a relatively easy matter to reduce the weldedconnections 5U, give the bearing I4 ra quarter turn to bring ears 26, 26in alignment with the longer dimension of opening 20,

',nals are shielded against scale or droppings and -will functionperfectly under all normal furnace conditions. Another advantage is theincreased load bearing capacity achievedbecause of the tubularconstruction of the support members.

Having now described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. A roller rail comprising a pair of aligned and spaced apart supportmembers, each of which comprises a hollow, attened tube, alignedopenings in the side Walls of each of said tubes, and the openings ofeach of the supports being aligned with the opening of the othersupport, the openings in the outermost of the side walls beingelliptical and the openings in the' innermost of the side walls beingcircular, circular bearing members disposed within said supports andreceived Within the circular openings, and means on and a part of thebearings to secure the bearings within the supports.

2. A roller rail assembly as in claim 1 in which the securing means onthe bearings comprise a pair of ears cooperating with the walls of thetubular members to keep the bearings therewithin.

3. A roller rail vassembly for use in heat treating furnaces comprisinga plurality of longitudinally aligned rollers, each Vof which hasjournals integral therewith, a pair of hollow, elongated attened tubularsupporting members set Von edge and permanently locked in spaced apartand parallel relationship to dene a roller channel therebetween in whichthe rollers rotate, each of said supporting members having a pluralityof pairs of' aligned op-enings through the sides thereof through whichopenings the roller journals extend, and a similar plurality of pairs ofroller bearings disposed within the hollow' tubular supports about theintegral roller journals.

4. AA roller rail assembly as in claim 3, inwhich the opening in theouter side of each of the tubular vsupports is of such shape as topermit 4the introduction of the roller bearing members

